A Present to Care
by Aoi Kazuya
Summary: Aoi is just another Hyotei student who has a big heart. She loves those around her unconditionally...maybe it's about time she was loved in return. Ootori/Ohtori/Otori X OC   Rated T 'cause I'm paranoid


**A/N: No, I haven't forgotten about my stories! I'm a senior now, so i'm kind of slightly freaking out about college apps and stuff ^^; Anyway, I had a sort of idea that i wanted to write...and since i felt bad about not updating anything in a while...I typed this out. I'm thinking this will end up being a three chapter story...**

**Anyway...my muse started creeping out the door halfway through the chapter...hopefully it'll be back by the time i decide to write the next chapter...**

**do enjoy and tell me what you think,**

**~ [Aoi-Kun]**

**EDIT:: I completely forgot my username was Aoi Kazuya while I was writing this. this story is in no way a self-insert. I can't believe I did that ._.  
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><p>I was one of them before. Those fangirls. But after witnessing the true horrors of how they treated others who didn't follow their rules…I found I really couldn't mindlessly follow such cruel ways. So I split. Sure, it might have cost me the majority of my so called "friends", but I was happier for the change.<p>

Oh, I guess I should introduce myself, huh? My name is Yumehito Aoi. My friends call me Yume. I'm a second-year student at Hyotei Gakuen. I know, I know, rich kid's school so I must be some stuck up priss who thinks she's all that right? Well, let me just tell you that not all of us Hyotei students are like that. Just a couple…but they have every right to be haughty I suppose.

But that's not the point. I'm here to tell my story so…will you listen?

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><p>It was a normal day for Yumehito Aoi. Woken up by her cat nuzzling just under her chin, and then taking a quick shower and getting into her school uniform, before joining her parents for breakfast. After breakfast, Aoi would bid her mother and father a 'see-you-later' before leaving their home to get into the car that would drive her to school. If the weather was nice enough and she was hit with the whim, she would walk to school.<p>

After arriving at school, Aoi thanked her driver and headed into the school building. She was early of course, as she always was. Out the windows she could see the various sports teams of the academy hosting practice as she directed her steps to the music section of the school. It was in the early hours of the school day, just before classes started, that Aoi liked to practice her violin. The school was empty for the most part, and she had the practice rooms all to herself so she could have her pick of which one she wanted to use.

Today, Aoi picked the room with the view overlooking the tennis courts. It had been her favorite room when she'd been a fangirl just last year, but now, it was her favorite room just because. She set her bag down on the couch before moving to the low table and settling her violin case on top. Her eyes flickered over to the grand piano that occupied most of the space in the room before she opened her case and tenderly took her instrument out.

A quick pull of the bow across the strings produced a clear sound and Aoi was satisfied that her instrument was still in tune. With that, she pulled a couple sheets of music from her bag and set them up on a music stand, correcting her grip on her instrument and began playing. The notes that flowed from the instrument brought a small smile to Aoi's face, a smile that would every so often scrunch up when she hit a wrong note. This was habitual. This was normal. Every spare moment she had now was spent with her music now that she had given up on wasting her time with squealing about how hot this guy was or if that guy had smiled at her. She, quite honestly, couldn't even remember how she had ever even been that type of person.

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><p>"And he suffered, wrapped around in swirling flames – a king, before, but now a beaten warrior. None of his comrades came to him, helped him, his brave and noble followers; they ran for their lives, fled deep in a wood. And only one of them remained, stood there, miserable, remembering, as a good man must, what kinship should mean." Aoi read out of her copy of the English book that her teacher had assigned. Aoi's English was perfect, but that was expected as she had spent five years of her adolescence living in America. She wasn't one to boast, so she didn't really care. Anyway, most of her classmates had near perfect English anyway.<p>

"Thank you Yumehito-san. Ootori-san, can you please continue from where Yumehito-san left off?"

Aoi took her seat and briefly glanced to her seatmate, staring up as the tall boy stood. He'd become quite popular amongst the girls of their year, she almost felt sorry for the boy, especially whenever his birthday came around. She smiled faintly before returning her attention to her book, not wanting to get caught staring by her teacher. She especially didn't want to deal with his fangirls who were already on her back about her sitting next to their idol.

"Thank you Ootori-san. Please take your seat." The teacher said as he turned to write something down on the board.

"Good job Ootori-kun." Aoi whispered as the boy took his seat. His expression was slightly startled for a moment, not expecting the compliment to come from the girl, before he smiled, "Thank you Yumehito-san."

"It's Yume-chan."

"Eh?"

But Aoi gave no response, as she had returned her attention to the front of the room, where the teacher was explaining the details of the next assignment. She raised her hand slightly, just enough to tap the end of her mechanical pencil against the side of her mouth, a motion that showed she was concentrating on something. Thinking about Ootori Choutarou's birthday…it was coming up soon wasn't it? Hmm…it would probably be polite to get him a gift…but she didn't want to give the wrong impression…

"-chan. Yume-chan."

Aoi blinked before turning her head, a bemused expression on her face. "I'm sorry Ootori-kun. Did you need something?"

The boy blinked at her before smiling and chuckling. "I was wondering if you would mind being my partner for the assignment."

Assignment…? Aoi looked to the board, quickly skimming the words written before mentally smacking herself for being so absent-minded. "Of course I don't mind working with you Ootori-kun. Let's do a good job, neh?" Aoi's eyes widened ever so slightly and her hand twitched, as if wanting to smack itself over her mouth. The added 'neh' had been a bad habit of hers, picked up from a childhood friend, and she had been in pretty good control over not letting it slip out. Ootori only chuckled in response before saying, "Hai."

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><p>Lunch break. Aoi stood from her seat, stretching a bit before she heard her name being called. Her head whipped around and she smiled at her friend who was standing in the doorway, waving at her to hurry up. She quickly turned to pick up her bags, half-considered telling Ootori that she was going before seeing him already swamped and retracting the thought. She hurried to her friend's side and the two of them left, discussing random topics as they headed outside.<p>

The weather was mild and the two friends found a secluded spot to sit in to eat their lunches. Mori Yue was a third year at Hyotei Gakuen. He was a member of the track team there but despite their rigorous training schedule, he always found time to hang out with Aoi and to go to her recitals.

"Any new songs?" he asked as they were eating, a cool breeze sweeping over the area. Aoi gave a nod in response, having just deposited a bit of food into her mouth. She quickly swallowed. "Yea, my teacher was really excited about giving it to me this time around for some reason. I guess it's her favorite song or something…though I don't blame her, it sounds beautiful when played correctly."

"Mind playing it for me?"

"Mm…after we finish eating then." Aoi mumbled, one hand pulling her bag closer to her as she continued eating and rifling through her papers. Her brow furrowed as she finished her food and set her lunchbox down to the side and pulled her bag into her lap. Using both hands now, her expression scrunched up. "I think I left it in the practice room this morning…" she mumbled, a distraught tone in her voice.

"Hey, hey. Don't get upset. We'll just go get it now, alright Yume-chan?"

The girl pouted. "I wasn't going to cry or anything…" she murmured before taking the hand Yue offered her and letting him pull her up. "…but thank you Mori-senpai."

The brown-haired boy chuckled before taking Aoi's bag from her and pulling her along behind him, his feet treading the familiar path to the practice rooms. Aoi frowned at his actions but went along with them, if only to humor her friend. Her thoughts once again strayed to her seat-mate. Well…since he _was_ part of the tennis team…maybe she could go visit her old friends over the weekend. It had been quite some time since she'd last seen them…

"Yume-chan, I'm standing right here you know." Yue huffed out in a mock-angry tone. Aoi laughed softly. "I know Mori-senpai, I'm sorry; my mind's been a bit occupied recently."

"A bit is an understatement don't you think? I don't think you've been this quiet around me since we first met."

Another pout worked its way onto Aoi's lips, "You make it sound like I'm an incessant chatterbox." By now the two of them had made it to the practice rooms and they fell into a natural silence when they heard the sound of a piano drifting out through the slightly open door.

"Someone's practicing right now…" Aoi murmured. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually run into somebody at the practice rooms, they remained largely unused during the school day as most students waited till after the academic day was over to practice. "Maybe we should come back la-!" Aoi didn't get to finish her sentence before Yue was barging into the room, not even bothering to knock.

It was moments like these that made Aoi wonder just why Yue spent so much time with her. He didn't seem to have any respect for other musicians…in fact he didn't seem to have much respect for the rest of the human race most of the time. Yet he had a large group of friends and a fairly substantial fanclub. Aoi shifted her weight a bit before moving closer to the doorway and peering into the room. Whoever was playing had cut off mid-measure, staring at the two with a confused expression.

"O-Ootori-kun!" Aoi's face turned slightly pink in embarrassment. "I'm sorry about this; I'm not sure what got into Mori-senpai…" She trailed off when she saw the look the older boy was giving the second-year tennis player.

"Ootori Choutarou. So that's you is it?" Yue asked rather rudely. Aoi's brow furrowed. Ootori didn't deserve to be treated so coldly by Yue, no matter the third-year's reasons. The tall second-year was much too kind for that.

"Mori-senpai…"

"Be quiet Yume-chan."

Aoi's mouth snapped shut and she frowned in mild irritation.

Ootori got up from the piano bench and bowed. "Yes…did senpai need something?"

Aoi saw Yue's eyes flicker over to her before scanning the room and then resettling on Ootori. "No. I suppose not." With that he turned and left, dropping Aoi's bag back into her hands. "I'll see you tomorrow Yume-chan."

Once the third-year was gone, Aoi let out a sigh and gave a half-smile to Ootori. "I really am sorry Ootori-kun…"

"No, it's fine." Ootori responded, waving his hands a bit with an understanding smile on his face. Aoi's frown lightened slightly, though it was still apparent on her face. She moved further into the room, glancing at the piece Ootori had been playing before her eyes spotted another pile of music sheets.

"Oh! I really did leave them here." She said before gathering them up and rifling through them to make sure all the sheets were there.

"Those sheets are yours Yume-chan?"

"Mhm. It's the piece my teacher wishes for me to play at my next recital."

Ootori had sat back down by then and Aoi took a seat on the couch in the room. "I…didn't know you played the piano Ootori-kun."

"A-ah…I've been busy with tennis so I…haven't been playing much."

"I think that's cool."

"E-eh?"

Aoi mentally slapped herself, disbelief running rampant through her mind at all the slip-ups she'd had today. "I mean…being able to play incredibly in tennis and on the piano. You're an amazing person Ootori-kun."

"Thank you…"

An awkward silence fell around the two as Aoi played with the papers in her hands, staring at the little black notes, and Ootori stared down at the ivory keys of the piano, resting his hands in his lap.

"I think that Yume-chan is awesome too."

The girl's head jerked up quickly. "Who? Me? As flattered as I am by that comment Ootori-kun, it just isn't true." A soft smile appeared on her lips as she set her papers down next to her, folding her hands into her lap. "But if that's what you want to believe, then I will let you do so….would you mind playing something for me? Anything?"

If he was bothered by the sudden change of topic, Ootori didn't let it show, instead, he laid his fingers back on the keys and started up his song again. Aoi let her eyes shut as she listened to the song, her smile lifting just a bit more at the corners.

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><p>Another frustrated sigh wrenched itself from Aoi's lips as she lowered her violin, staring forlornly at the sheets before her, no matter what she did…the tone just didn't sound right.<p>

"What am I not doing right…?" She muttered, looking down at her beloved violin.

"Your bow is too heavy. That measure is supposed to sound lighter."

Aoi turned her head to the doorway, her eyes curious. "Ootori-kun, you don't have tennis practice today?"

Her classmate shook his head before stepping into the room. "No, practice was cancelled today."

"I see…" Aoi glanced back to her violin before looking, once again, up at Ootori. "So, you play the violin also, Ootori-kun?"

Ootori nodded. "Yes…"

"Any other secret abilities you want to inform me of?" Aoi asked, her tone suddenly teasing. She moved over to where she'd left her violin case and settled her violin into the plush velvet carefully. She glanced to the boy and laughed softly. "Only joking Ootori-kun." After closing the case securely, Aoi scooped her bag up and shifted it a bit so that she could carry her violin case in the same hand. "Well, I have to go now. Thanks for the advice, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

Aoi left with a smile, her steps echoing down the empty hallways as she made her way out of the school building. Her mind was going in every direction as she reached the gates of the academy, her eyes scanning the street in front of the school for her ride home. She skipped over the limo waiting in front of the gates, looking for her normal ride. The limo's back window was lowered and she saw a head of purplish-grey hair before a familiar voice spoke.

"Do you not recognize Ore-sama's limo anymore Aoi-chan?"

It was hard to mistake that slightly English-accented Japanese for anyone else. "Keigo-kun? You were waiting for me?"

Atobe didn't respond. Instead, he raised the window back up and moved away from the door as the driver went around to open said door for Aoi. Atobe motioned for the girl to get in and she shook her head a bit before climbing smoothly into the limo and taking the seat next to Atobe. She placed her bags by her feet before folding her hands neatly into her lap.

"Mother and Father didn't tell me you would be picking me up today."

"You can't say that you're surprised. Aunt and Uncle aren't exactly the best at remembering things."

If anyone other than Atobe had said something like that about her parents, Aoi would have probably chewed their head off. But since it was Atobe… "I suppose you're right."

"How is your violin playing going?" Atobe asked, finally breaking the silence that had filled the space around them.

"It's good." Aoi answered with a smile. "I've been practicing, and I've gotten a bit of critique from a classmate."

"A classmate? Ore-sama hopes you do not mean that Mori Yue. Ore-sama doubts he knows the difference between a half-note and a quarter-note."

"No, I don't mean Mori-senpai, but don't you think that that was uncalled for?"

Atobe dismissed the question with a delicately arched brow. "Then who are you talking about Aoi-chan?"

"He's one of your regulars. Ootori Choutarou-kun."

"Is that where he went in such a hurry then…?"

"Hm?" Aoi glanced over to her childhood friend, a questioning look in her eyes. Atobe had whispered the question to himself and as such, Aoi hadn't quite caught what he'd said.

"It's nothing. Ore-sama believes that we have reached ore-sama's home now." And as he finished his sentence, the limo rolled to a smooth stop. Aoi shook her head to herself before climbing out of the limo as the door was opened. She felt Atobe climb out behind her before he laid a hand on her shoulder and led her into the mansion.

"Do you want to go greet our parents first or-"

"It's probably best that we go greet them." Aoi interrupted. Atobe nodded and the pair headed for the sitting room, standing in the doorway until their parents noticed the two teens and turned in their seats and away from their conversation.

"Oh! Is that Keigo? He's grown so handsome!" Aoi's mother exclaimed as she stood up to greet the two teens. Atobe took her compliments in stride as Aoi half-smiled at her mother's enthusiasm, feeling nothing even when it was obvious her own mother had completely neglected to greet her.

"Aoi has also grown to be an exceptional beauty." Atobe's mother added. Aoi's mother turned away from Atobe with a short laugh. "Oh my, don't flatter the girl. It's a wonder she can keep her figure with how much she eats."

Aoi had to admit that that had stung, but she only averted her eyes, used to the way her mother talked about her already. "We'll be working on homework in my room Mother, Father." Atobe said, shooting Aoi a glance.

"Oh, of course, of course. Go ahead."

Atobe discreetly took Aoi's hand and quickly led her from the room. The walk up the stairs and through multiple hallways to Atobe's room was a blur to the girl as she stared blankly at her feet, mechanically placing one foot in front of the other. It was only when she was sat onto a soft sofa did she snap out of her daze.

"Keigo-kun…"

Atobe didn't respond as he took a seat opposite her, merely regarding his friend with an unreadable expression on his face. Aoi understood that he was waiting.

"…I can't say it Keigo-kun…" She whispered.

Atobe's eyes closed briefly before he got up again and walked over to his desk. He sifted through a small pile of books that were stacked neatly on his desk before returning to his seat and tossing the book so that it landed on the table in front of Aoi.

"Then don't use words."

Aoi's wide eyes looked from the book to Atobe a few times before she picked the book up and flipped through it, stopping on the page she was looking for. Her eyes scanned the notes for a moment before she reached for her violin case and unpacked her instrument. A moment later Rachmaninoff's _Vocalise _was pouring out from her violin. As she concentrated on her song, Aoi missed the look that crossed Atobe's face as he listened to the feelings pouring out from the strings.

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><p>After Aoi finished her song, the two Hyotei students had started, and completed, their homework in silence. Dinner followed and then Aoi had to bid Atobe a 'see-you-tomorrow', before following her parents out to the car for the drive home. The ride was completely silent.<p>

Now, Aoi was back in school, idly staring at the blank sheet of paper before her. Her mind kept revisiting the conversation she'd had with her parents after returning home. In fact, this was about the hundredth time she'd rerun the entire scenario since it happened. She was tired from spending a whole night tossing and turning as her mind could find no peace and so the inviting arms of sleep had completely missed her the entire night. Her mind had been continuously wandering all day and she couldn't concentrate long on any one thing. In fact…she couldn't even remember if she'd eaten anything yet.

"Yume-chan, do you need to go to the infirmary?"

Aoi squeezed her eyes shut before snapping them open and looking up tiredly and into the worried face of one Ootori. She forced a smile onto her face, though it came out somewhat strained.

"No, I'll be fine. Thank you Ootori-kun." As simple as the gesture was…Aoi was grateful for even one more person who showed that they cared, no matter how little, about her well-being.

When the bell rang to signify the end of classes, Aoi put her things away slowly before getting up and then grabbing onto the edge of her table, gripping so hard her knuckles turned white. Well, that answered whether or not she had remembered to eat.

Ootori had been about to leave when he spotted his seatmate standing rigidly next to her desk, visibly paling as her eyes glazed over. He reached out a hand to tap her on the shoulder and let out a startled gasp as Aoi's knees gave out and she fell. Ootori caught Aoi's arm before she could hit the floor and pulled her into his chest, her head lolling. His worried gaze searched her face for a moment before it registered that the younger girl had fainted.

"Hey Choutarou what's taking you so-" Shishido stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Ootori's distressed expression and the unconscious girl in his arms. "What…"

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><p>"Ore-sama demands to know what happened Aoi."<p>

There was no '-chan' suffix, which meant that Atobe was being serious and that made Aoi smile weakly. "I'm just having an off day Keigo. You don't have to worry about it. I'm sure tennis practice is much more important, can't let the other school's think Hyotei is weak."

"I assure you that we will be prepared for our matches Yumehito-chan." Oshitari interjected.

Aoi was currently being forced to lie down on a sick-bed in the infirmary. Ootori had carried her there while Shishido had run off to tell Atobe why Ootori and he himself were late. Upon hearing that Aoi had fainted, Atobe had left the court, the rest of the regulars trailing after him curiously. The boys had arrived to find Aoi awake and apologizing profusely to Ootori, her face flushed pink.

Aoi frowned briefly before her usual smile was on her face. "That is good news Oshitari-senpai." She returned her attention to Atobe, "But really, I'm alright Keigo. I just forgot to eat today, it's nothing serious. I'll be fine in a little bit."

"How are you getting home?" Atobe snapped.

"Walking, I suppose. My driver has the day off and my parents are…busy." Aoi answered smoothly, her smile unwavering.

Atobe's eyes narrowed slightly. "Ore-sama expects to see you at the gates when tennis practice is over."

"But Kei-!"

Aoi had barely started to protest when Atobe turned and left, the regulars giving the two curious glances before following after their captain, Ootori murmuring a low 'feel-better-soon'. After the last boy had left, Aoi pushed herself up and sighed, brushing her hair back with a hand. She was grateful, seriously, that Atobe at least could be counted on to take care of her. But she couldn't help but feel like she was being a burden. She strained her arms against the bad and swung her legs around so that they hung off the edge of the bed, in this position she had a view out the window.

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><p>As they hit a ball back and forth to warm-up, Ootori found himself glancing curiously over to his captain who was sitting in his usual spot, though he looked much more agitated than normal.<p>

"Oi! Choutarou!"

Ootori quickly returned his attention to his task, raising his racket to return the ball with a bachhand. "Sorry senpai."

They hit the ball a couple more times in silence before Shishido spoke again. "Who is she anyway?"

"Eh?"

"That girl. Yumehito Aoi."

"Oh. She's my seatmate."

"Wonder why Atobe was so worked up about her. I didn't think he had a girlfriend."

"Senpai…I didn't know you were into gossip."

"H-huh? I'm not! It was just weird how he was so worried about her."

"I see…"

"Yumehito-chan and Atobe are not an item. Merely childhood friends." Oshitari's voice suddenly answered Shishido's question. The doubles partners both stopped to focus their attention on the tensai of their team.

"How'd you know that Yuushi?" Gakuto asked.

"I pay attention." Was the blue-haired male's response before he walked off again, leaving the other three to stare at his back questioningly.


End file.
